Alam, Mahbub-ul (1898-1981) fiction writer and journalist, was born on 1 May 1898 at his maternal uncle's residence in Fatepur village in chittagong district. His father, Nasiruddin, was a moulvi of the same village.

Mahbub-ul Alam passed the Entrance Examination in 1916 from Fateyabad M E School and then studied at Chittagong College. In 1917, during the First World War, he joined a Bengali platoon and was sent to Mesopotamia. In 1919, at the end of the war, he returned home and, in 1920, became Sub-Registrar. He was subsequently promoted to District Sub-Registrar, District Registrar, and Inspector of Registration.

After retiring in 1954, he started publishing the weekly Jamana (1954) from Chittagong. His first book, Paltan Jibaner Smriti, published in 1940, was an autobiography describing his life as a soldier. He also wrote two other memoirs: Burmar Hangama (1940) and Momener Jabanbandi (1946). His short stories, which have literary merit, are included in Tajia (1946), and Pancha Anna (1953). His one novel is Mafizan (1946). Among his humorous writings are Gofsandesh (1953), Indonesia (1959), Turkey (1960), and Saudi Arabia (1960). He also wrote a history of Chittagong titled Chattagramer Itihas (3 vols, 1947-1950), and a history of freedom struggles in Bengal, Banalir Muktiyuddher Itibrtta (4 vols).

Mahbub-ul Alam received several awards, including Bangla Academy Award (1965), Pride of Performance (1967) and Ekushey Padak (1978). He died in Chittagong on 7 August 1981. [Bimal Guha]